Bibliographical Study on the Constitutional Foods in Korean Medicine

Through the study on the constitution-favored food by each constitution, we can draw below conclusions : The number of food that corresponds to that on more than 3 literatures showed over 40 for lesser yang person, greater yin person and lesser yin person, however, the number for greater yang person only appeared about 20, half of the number for the others. This is considered to have resulted from the not-enough studies on greater yang person for its rarity. When looking into the portion of the constitution-favored food for each constitution, the portion of cereals, bulbous plants and beans takes 27% (average 16.4% in the constitution-favored food)for greater yin person-favored food, the portion of vegetables and mushroom shares 29%(average 23.6% in the constitution-favored food) for lesser yin person, while the portion of fish, shellfish and other sea-food shows an average 25%, almost same figure for greater yang person, lesser yang person and lesser yin person, but its portion for greater yin person comes up the lowest figure at 16.2%. The portion of fruit shows relatively bigger figure in the constitution-favored food for lesser yang person and greater yin person, while smaller for greater yang person and lesser yin person. Meat, milk and milk products, eggs, oil and fats, condiments and flavors are not found in the greater yang person-favored food. When classifying the constitution-favored food by 4-Chi, the cold-natured food which favorers for lesser yang person shows a major portion, and when classifying it by 5 tastes, the sweety food becomes major, further, when classifying it by the benefited organ, the food benefiting to spleen and stomach, the lesser yin person favored food, appears prevalent. Above conclusion, based on approximately 300 kinds of food which are classified as constitutional food on literatures, suggests the necessity of a steady study and requires us to develop new constitutional food with the contemporary technology of food-processing and to determine the constitutional suitability on the newly introduced food which is increasing its numbers through importation due to frequent oversea trading.

한의학의 체질식품에 대한 문헌적 고찰